A Heartwarming Story - Cleft Lip Miracles in Zimbabwe

I just came across an article about an organization named Operation Hope which is doing amazing things to restore the faces of children with cleft lip and other facial injuries. What suprised and pleased me most is that they were permitted to do their work in Zimbabwe, something we have not heard of in a long while.

According to Medline Plus cleft lip and cleft palate are birth defects that affect the upper lip and roof of the mouth. They happen when the tissue that forms the roof of the mouth and upper lip don't join before birth. The problem can range from a small notch in the lip to a groove that runs into the roof of the mouth and nose. This can affect the way the child's face looks. It can also lead to problems with eating, talking and ear infections.

Read more about Operation of Hope here and see the astounding transformation of one young man named beloved whose face was blown off by a landmine he found in his backyard.

The Zimbabwe you have never seen - Harare

Hi Readers!

I came across this video on Facebook. A friend of a friend made it and I want you to see it. As someone who has just returned from Zimbabwe I can attest to the fact that the winds of change are blowing. There is a new optimism in the air by all people from all political parties. We need international assistance to rebuild what has collapsed over the past 10 years, and as you can see from the video, we're still far ahead of many poor countries from an infrastructural perspective. This would all be lost if we didn't get the support of the international community at this crucial time. Below is what he wrote as an introduction, and I have attached the video at the end of the page. I'd love to hear your thoughts:

"This is the Zimbabwe you have never seen on BBC or ABC. The Zimbabwe that has been tainted (maybe rightfully so) for the last 10 years. But with a new Government the country emerges. It struts with a new swagger on the world stage. Adorned in it's full glory it rises from the ashes to retake it's rightful place as a democracy. With a new unity govt Zimbabwe already has: -3% inflation (down from 231million % just a month ago) projected 2% growth in the economy after 10 years of decline Food is fully stocked in shops. Fuel at less than 90cents per litre. Investment is now flowing once more. All this has been achieved in just 2 months of the unity govt. I'm sure BBC or ABC never told you this. Well here I have assembled the largest collection of high quality photo's of Harare (our capital) that I've seen on-line. Enjoy. and remember...ignorance is not bliss. By Nigel Mabandla "

Forget Me Not Forget Me Not Forget Me Not Forget Me Not

We spent our last weekend in Zimbabwe touring the Eastern Highlands and visiting family and friends. The scenery as always was spectacular and a much needed tonic for my nostalgia. I took photos of everything I could even though the car was racing at top speed. I wanted to capture every moment including the views, so that when I returned to America I would have something to remind me of home. I photographed images I would have taken for granted in the past such as vendors selling fruits and veggies at a bus stop, curving roads, the mountains, and people going about their business; and of course I continued to scout for artistic talent on the roadside, in small towns, and in the villages.

Approximately 150km away from Harare we drove past a display of toy tractors which I had seen in other parts of the country earlier in the week. I could see that this was the latest wave of crafts in the country. Typically in Zimbabwe once a certain type of craft catches on, others copy and soon the market becomes more or less flooded with the respective craft. All the same, the crafts are well made by amazingly talented individuals.

We stopped the car, reversed a few meters backwards and I hopped out, eager to meet the artist of these colorful toys. The artist turned out to be a young boy named Forget Munhuwepano, aged 17, but looks 14. I explained who I was and asked if I could interview him about his work. He agreed but was a little shy with his answers. I really had to prod him to get information, and this is what I learned:

As mentioned above, Forget is 17 years old and he dropped out of school in seventh grade. He did nothing with his life until about a year ago when his uncle began to teach him how to make these toy cars. He uses Jacaranda wood, used tyres, recycled rubber, wire, scrap metal and oil paint to build his toys. The wheels for example are circular wood shapes covered with a strip of recycled tyre. Each toy tractor sells for anywhere from $10 to $30. The tractors have long wire handles with a steering wheel to control it when it is moving.

He said business was OK although he finds he has to bargain a lot with his buyers who think his prices are too high. We encouraged him to put himself through school. The last time we checked public high schools in Zimbabwe cost $80 a term/semester, and if he could work it out, he could sell toys during school holidays/vacation and go to school during term time. I call his tractors "toys" but they would work well as an artistic display in a home or office setting. You'll notice that Forget has named his pieces after real brands like John Deere and Massey which is probably a violation of copyright laws. Unfortunately someone like Forget has no knowledge of this. Wouldn't it be great if these big companies would order them as marketing gimmicks with a social benefit, rather than threaten to take legal action (as I have seen against wire artisans who make wire Volkswagens)?
Unfortunately time was not on our side, so while we made assumptions that he would be able to put himself through school we really didn't get a chance to ask him about his personal circumstances, and he wasn't very forthcoming with information about himself. It was nice to talk to him anyway. We didn't purchase a toy but we did leave him a donation to purchase more materials like oil paint which he said was very expensive. I've learned the hard way - in the past I would buy at least 2 or 3 samples of artists products and ended up with too much inventory. Now I let my readers decide if the product is good - thumbs up or thumbs down? Let me know!

Meet Dexter Nyamainashe - A Truly Gifted Artist

Hi Everyone! Last week I was in Zimbabwe and as usual I was on the hunt for creative talent and innovation. On several occassions I drove past a man stationed in the parking lot of a shopping area in one of the northern suburbs of Harare. He sat behind a huge contraption which I couldn't figure out from a distance, so finallly after several days I decided to stop and say hello. What I found was a treasure trove of talent, skill, creativity and vision. Dexter Nyamainashe of Chiweshe, Zimbabwe is aged 41 and six years ago he started combining various art pieces he made to create what he describes as a "Global Village of Peace". He uses scrap material to make little figures, minature homes and scenes which come alive when he rotates a piece of wire behind the art piece. The minatures move, they cook, they wash laundry, they play, they smoke a joint, they look for cattle etc... The animals fly, they run, they eat and they kill. Confused?? Take a look at the pictures below. Dexter says the above represents Americans having a barbeque in the Summer

Below are the videos I promised in several parts

VIDEO PART I

VIDEO PART II

VIDEO PART III

Above is a man thatching his hut in Zvimba, Zimbabwe

Dexter says he has had a difficult time promoting his art locally for the following reasons: a) The local city council has called his art nonsense and refused to give him a license to operate. He has been chased away and even arrested for "illegal" vending. b) Locals are spooked by his "Global Village". He says some people think it might be related to witchcraft so he has to explain to them by demonstrating how it works. c) He used to work with the local art gallery but their commission was too high leaving him with very little. d) He managed to gain the support of a local shop owner who tells the city council that Dexter is part of their own store display. This means he can display his work free of charge, avoid police harassment and avoid costly flea market charges. Dexter promotes peace because he is concerned about the direction the world is headed. He says God made us all so we have to learn to tolerate one another and work together for a more peaceful world. What a Guy!

Meet David Kasama, Natural Jewellery Maker...

Necklace made from water seeds and hand painted bamboo

I met David Kasama at Silveiria House with my mother during my annual visit to Zimbabwe. He was sitting outside facing his friends, the Shona sculptors, sitting on a chair and a small table:

David prepares his products for the local market

From a distance it looked like he was working with a sewing machine, but it wasn't a sewing machine, it was a "bench grinder" which he explained is a tool used to sand/make his products:David shows his machinery

David is a natural jewellery maker. He finds seeds from indegenous trees and uses them to make his jewellery. He started jewellery making in 1980 when he was a member of a youth group managed by the Jesuit priests at Silveiria House. He says he tried many other jobs but he always returned to jewellery making which he enjoyed most of all. David uses necklaces and earings from bamboo, mopane wood (which is a hardwood), peach seeds and water seeds:

Necklace made of Bamboo and Peach seeds
He picks them after they have fallen to the ground naturally so as not to destroy the ecosystem in the environment around him:

Africa, and is more often used to make furniture and African curios, so I was suprised to see a 100% natural oil derived from this tree. As David showed me his jewellery equipment he explained that the machine was purchased for him by a visitor to Zimbabwe who lived in the United Kingdom. The visitor sent him catalog from the UK to choose the machine he needed to do his work, and he hasn't looked back since. I wondered if the benefactor knew what a difference his small gesture had made, for David lives with his wife, his mother and three of the children of his late brother. He is the breadwinner and I wondered how on earth he was managing to sustain everyone, especially after he told me about the volume of business he had lost since 2000.

Sample of "lucky bean" seeds (as we used nickname them ), which David uses to make necklaces.

I was impressed by the innovation he displayed. Due to the scarcity of hooks for his earings and necklaces, he purchases gold plated safety pins and uses his pliers to make the hooks he needs:

Gold plated safety pins he converts into earing or necklace hooks with pliers

He showed me a bottle of the Mukwa oil he uses to polish the seeds until they shine. The Mukwa is a species of indigenous trees native to southern

David shows his work in progressHe opened up a small photo album and showed us all the jewellery he had made for the USA market in the past, which he used to sell through local tourists and NGO employees from Germany, the Netherlands and USA:

David shows us his catalog

He then pointed the parking lot and told me how it used to always be full of cars. I followed his finger to an overgrown patch of land where I had parked my own car not even realizing that I had parked on the official parking lot. Since the decline of Zimbabwe's economy fewer tourists visit and small scale artisans like David are the ones being hit the hardest:

Empty parking lot on what should be a busy work week



It was quite sad to hear and again I felt terribly helpless. I told him I'd purchase a sample of his jewellery to test the market for him. I also purchased a necklace for myself & my Mom. I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on his work, and if you'd like to see more just met me know. What so sad about this situation is that here is a low income entrepreneur, father to his deceased brother's 3 children, caretaker of his ageing mother and family man in his own right, trying to make a decent living honestly. The least we can do is provide a stepping stone for home to continue his work.

I'll be uploading David's jewllery to our new website when it is up and running early this year. In the meantime, take a look and add your comments good or bad and if you want to purchase any of it just let me know. I'd particularly like to hear design ideas I can take back to David to help him make his products more marketable overseas. I'll be visiting Zimbabwe again soon and I want to be able to give David some feedback on what the American market thinks of his work:

l

African Interior Design Idea For Sadza Batik

Happy New Year Everyone! Today I wanted to share a simple way for you to incorporate sadza batik into your African interior design. You'll notice I add the word "African" quite a bit in an effort to get more traffic to this blog, but even if you're not looking for "African" interior design ideas, the batiks add a unique self-defined flavor you will not find any place else. The photograph shows my own kitchen in Atlanta, GA which I decorated with a hand made pelmet covered in a bright orange fabric to warm up the room. A pelmet is a framework placed above a window, used to conceal curtain fixtures, used decoratively (to hide the curtain rod) - aka valance or cornice. I attached a strip of Sadza batik to the groove in the center then overlayed it with this shimmery tassle.

Please share your thoughts and let us know if you'd like to see more ideas for African interiors...

Rwanda Baskets at Macy's

Last week I received an invitation to meet Janet Nkubana, founder of the Rwanda Path to Peace Basket project at an event to be held at Macy's Herald Square in Manhattan. Since I was in the area that evening, I decided to go and see these baskets that I have heard so much about.

Upon arrival, on the 6th floor, where the event was taking place, there were numerous people all waiting in anticipation for the event to begin. The baskets were simply gorgeous and professionally laid out on one side of the room, and there were waiters dressed in black with trays of complimentary champagne and Godiva chocolates!!I am always amazed at the range of skill, talent and creativity in Africa. Zimbabwe is famous for its Binga baskets, Swaziland for its magnificent Swazi baskets, South Africa for its colorful telephone wire baskets, and now Rwanda with its impeccable and colorful baskets. I felt really proud to be an African woman standing amidst such wonderful work, and I felt justified in what I always tell people, that Africa is a best kept secret for crafts which is slowly coming out.

A representative from the Rwandan embassy said a few words, followed by Janet herself and then finally the CEO of Macy's Terry Lundgren. Janet's speech was by far the most emotional and you could see how moved and overwhelmed she was by all the love and support around her. I'm so happy for Rwanda, the country really deserves this after years of war and loss. Maybe one day when Tashanda has expanded to the rest of Sub Saharan Africa (as is our intention), the people of Rwanda will be our Partners too.

Tashanda Awarded Entrepreneurs Achievement Award by AngelAfrica

Hi Everyone. On Dec 12th Tashanda's president was presented with the 2008 AngelAfrica Entrepreneurs Achievement Award which is dedicated to persons of African descent who are promoting private sector development by creating and/or managing businesses on the African continent and who are fulfilling AngelAfrica’s mission to improve Africa’s economy through private enterprise. This award shows the depth and breadth of Tashanda Inc.’s mission to fight poverty, support micro enterprise in Sub-Saharan Africa, and achieve the United Nation’s Millennium Development goals.“When I think of Africa and Zimbabwe in particular I don’t think of wars, famine, hyperinflation and more recently cholera. That’s not to say I ignore it either. I simply choose to focus on what’s possible for our continent and I always look for the positive. So when I think of Zimbabwe this is what I see…. I see talent, I see creativity and innovation, I see resilience, beauty and phenomenal possibilities.
We wouldn’t be here today if we didn’t love Africa or if we didn’t believe in what is possible for the continent. I’d like to challenge everyone here to think of a way to invest in Africa. Many of you are going there for the holidays, so I challenge you to set aside some money $50 - $100, and figure out a way to make a difference in the life of one person living in Africa today. As a social entrepreneur my favorite ideas are always business related. So just to get you thinking, here are some ideas:
• Donate your old cell phones & some phone cards to get someone started on their own phone shop.
• The cheapest sewing machine at Walmart is $40. You can purchase it online and have it shipped directly to Africa to help someone start their own clothing business.
• You can purchase seeds like beans, pumpkin, tomatoes, maize and other staples. Home depot has them or you can buy them on line and ship them directly to Africa for a market garden business
• Or, if you are feeling extremely generous, you can spend USD$100 to USD$200 to purchase a donkey and cart and set someone up with their own transportation business.
It really is that simple!
• Finally, you can also go to www.tashanda.com to purchase products made by the micro-entrepreneurs of Zimbabwe.”

Simple ideas that really work.

Thanks for all your continued support .

Social Enterprise:

Recycled Paper Crafts in Zimbabwe

Tashanda attended its first New York City street festival a month or so ago. Since we don't have a retail store this is one of the ways in which we market our products and we meet some interesting people along the way. One of these people is a woman named Janice Ashby, who is investing a great deal of time and effort in Zimbabwe after stumbling across well made paper products in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe several years ago. She has sent machinery and equipment to Zimbabwe and now there is a thriving paper making production facility in one of the high density suburbs. Local women and men have found employment and an opportunity to earn money from themselves.

Zimbabwean Author Peter Godwin reads from his new memoir at a New York City fundraiser for Eco Africa Social Ventures.

Last night I attended a New York city fundraiser for the non-profit arm of Janice's business which is known as Eco Africa Social Ventures. It was very well organized and there were some very interesting people in attendance, all of them there to support Zimbabwe. It was touching and moving to know that so many people cared. Tashanda has added their recycled paper products to the website on this link - Eco Africa Sample paper products by Eco Africa recycled paper being sold by Tashanda

Tichakunda Preschool

"I Want To Be A Teacher When I Grow Up"

I can't belive it's been almost a year since my friend and I visited the pre-school at Hatcliffe Extension which we have since learned is named Tichakunda.

I'm happy to say that Tashanda has managed to contribute a percentage of Afrobag sales for this year to this cause. The amount has not been a lot but it's a start and we are encouraged by the possibilities we can create for this school and these children.

I have never had to fund raise before so I had no clue how to get people involved in this cause. Eleven months ago I posted 2 of the videos from the original Hatcliffe Nursery School blog (see menu on right) to Facebook. Several months later a friend of a friend saw the video. She was so touched, moved and inspired by what she saw that she decided to set up a non profit organization called Art from the Heart solely to raise funds for the operation of the school. She also built a fabulous website (http://www.artsquad.co.nz/) which describes the school and explains what help is needed etc... There is also a fund raising effort going on to raise $10,000 to build a borehole for the children to have access to clean drinking water and allow the volunteer teachers to grow vegetables for the children's daily meals. I cannot believe the potential of all of this and hope you will support us to achieve our goals.

In this blog I'm going to share some of the e-mails I've been exchanging with my close friend on the ground in Zimbabwe. This is the friend I was with when we discovered the pre-school. She is now actively working with the school to see how they can be assisted by friends outside of the country to help develop the school:

“I can't help feeling that we can do so much more for these kids. They are sitting in the dirt and I felt a bit as if my efforts were not good enough.............How are you otherwise? Don't ever get tired of doing good work, we are needed more than you will ever believe, believe me there are not many like us. Noone seems to have the time or inclination to do something for nothing.”
“i have attempted to itemise these needs as laid out to me in order of priority.
REQUIREMENTS
1) Borehole, there is a deep unprotected well on the premises which is the only source of water. It is very frightening to imagine what could happen to one the children if they wandered off and fell in. Not only that but there is a huge area of unused land that was once a thriving garden but has since died due to lack of water.If we could raise funds for a borehole there could be a thriving garden that would provide lunch for the children.
2) Gravel or concrete floors for the classrooms. Currently the children sit on dirt floors which is a health hazard.
3) 8 Metal Roof Sheets (12ft) for two of the classrooms that currently have no roofs.4) Allowances for teachers, $800 million (USD80) a month, plus anything that may help, laundry soap etc
5)Furniture- Tables, chairs, matresses etcThe kids diet is also very poor, they have one meal of porridge aday which is not sugared and grossly inadequate. We came up with a basic menu for the school at yesterdays meeting which looks something like this:
9am Porridge
11am Banana
1pm Sadza and vegetables
4pm Maheu +bun
Most of these children are orphans or from broken homes and do not have regular meals. So if anyone knows anyway in which we could get these food items please help. Barbara maybe you could do a project proposal for Plan International?I leave it in your hands fellow leaders. I will continue to work with this preschool and I pray that the group thinks this a worthy project to adopt for PANEL.”

“Dear All,

Please find attached donation request letter for the preschool graduation party on 29 November. Whatever you can contribute would be so appreciated. The letter details what is required. Maybe those with contacts e.g Wavell has meat etc can just contribute that information.

Best
Maku

Rita your questions are answered on the attachment Building project 1. It's very rough as I did whilst on the phone with Mr. Hove. If you can't figure it out I will summarise. Thanks and I am sure the building will be fab. A borehole is priority though.”

15 September 2008,

Dear Sir/ Madam

RE APPEAL FOR DONATIONS FOR CHRISTMAS PARTY AND GRADUATION CEREMONY
As the year draws to a close it is once again time to say goodbye to some of our beloved children as they proceed with life and enroll for primary school. We have nurtured them and given them a meal for the past few years and we now hand over the baton to the next lot of caregivers. This is always a sad time for us as we see some children coming back for another year as their parents/ guardians are unable to raise school fees. Our crèche and day care centre has 525 children this year. Three quarters of our children are considered orphaned and/or vulnerable.

We are appealing to you for donations for our graduation ceremony, taking place on 29th November 2008. This is an occasion where we make these children feel special and appreciated. We want the children to leave with confidence and special fond memories of Tichakunda, a place that has been a haven in their very tough environments.

We are appealing for donations mainly in the form of
Food (except alcohol and pork products) Dry and tinned goods are most needed as the crèche does not have electricity.
Goodies Any goodies for the Christmas Party- chips, sweets, cooldrinks etc. Anything that the kids would consider a treat.
Blankets and Clothes. Most of our children come barefoot and have hardly any clothing to speak of. Any blankets, shoes, clothes would be greatly appreciated.
Books and Pencils As we are working on the childrens wholesome development we would also like old books, crayons, pencils etc.

Thank you for your kindness. Any assistance no matter how small will be appreciated. Help us to help these helpless and innocent children

Back in Bloggerville

It's been a while since I blogged or e-mailed any customers & I do apologize for this & hope you will stick with us during these trying times in Zimbabwe. The biggest, most newsworthy event in Zimbabwe relates to the elections, the power-sharing agreement and more recently, the power-sharing disagreementc. Our emotions as a people have soared to hope & excitement, then just as quickly have spiralled downwards to despair & frustration since April 2008. Inflation is staggering at about 250,000,000% (or more by now) and I cannot even begin to imagine how people with no family overseas are coping. Overall it has been quite a horrendous ride & I'll take the so called poor US economy any day with its 2-3 inflation (or is it less??)

Anyway, you may wonder why what is happening in Zimbabwe is affecting Tashanda & I will try to explain. Firstly there were rumors that the international community was planning to ban exports from Zimbabwe - crafts included!! This left us in a state of limbo. What if we imported our products only to have them rejected at US based ports? So we had to wait it out and see.. and we are still waiting because the power sharing agreement is still under negotiation.


Secondly, while we wait things out, we've been developing our plan to develop the website to make it more user friendly and efficient, so we have not added any new products too our pages (sorry!). This is thanks to many of you who responded to our customer survey on www.tashanda.com. Hopefully within a month or so, you will see the new and more permanent Tashanda website.

Thirdly I've been getting creative and designing new products I hope to introduce over the course of the next year or so. Sounds like a long time to wait but given how slowly things move on the ground, this is how it will have to be.

I am stil looking for non-profits, individuals and or private businesses to partner with to carry out some of the initiatives, so if you are reading this and want to be a part of the African Arts & Crafts transformation, please let me know - financiers included!!

Silveira House - Part 1

Locating talented artisans continued to be a huge challenge for me during my 2 week visit to Zimbabwe. The tight economy had left traders tight lipped about where one could locate artists, so all I could do was ask everyone I met. One Sunday at church I told a family friend that I was looking for artisans and she asked me “Have you tried Silveira House?” Silveira House? I had never even heard of it. She gave me the directions and that same afternoon I took a drive….
I continued to be in awe of the tranquility of my surroundings. This location was no exception. The premises is on several acres and for miles further on, all you can see is beautiful tranquil landscape and plenty of trees like the Jacaranda. I was a long way away from New York City that’s for sure.
Silveira House is located about 8km from a suburb called Mandara in Harare. It was named after a sixteenth century Jesuit missionary and was founded in 1964 by Fr John Dove and a small team of colleagues. During those early days it operated as a training and leadership development education centre. Programs in civic education , industrial relations, agricultural cooperatives and youth training evolved in the pre-independence years. Later nutrition and child care, appropriate technology, craft skills, dress making and commercial skills projects were added. Programs have come and gone over the past 44 years in response to particular needs. Today it is still adapting to the emergence of a new Zimbabwe and is finding that training in civics, peace building, advocacy and research, as well as small scale engineering, together with HIV and AIDS awareness are key elements in their work. The leaders of Silveira House try to practice what they preach by allowing their premises to be used by several small scale enterprises. These businesses are run by some of their course graduates and have become fully independent entities that rent space from the center.
There were three main artisan groups that I decided to interview:
• Art Peace Cooperative – a cooperative of stone carvers from Tafara and Mabvuku (Harare suburbs), which has won awards for its work. They sell locally as well as export their unique work.
• Zuva Rabuda Crafts – produces and sells high quality tie-dye and batik products. The artists also market products from impoverished communities such as Binga.
• Chishawasha granite – this small cooperative makes beautiful headstones for graves from local rock. It’s big business in a nation suffering from the worst AIDS epidemic imaginable.

I introduced myself to the first person I met and it turned out that she is a member of Zuva Rabuda and also does tie-dye training for the local surrounding community. When word got around that I lived in the United States and was interviewing people for my blog I could sense some impatience by others as to when it would be their turn to be interviewed. I loved talking to everyone but at the same time it was a little overwhelming because by interviewing them, I was planting a seed of hope which I couldn’t promise to fulfill i.e, a chance to export their products overseas.... While finding export markets for them was definitely my goal, I still worried about my ability to deliver results, and I worried that I risked losing their trust if I failed to deliver what they expected. So many people do this you see. They interview, they buy, then they promise to return with more business, and it’s the last time they hear from the individual.
I made a decision to try to approach it differently & communicate the fact that instead of buying only what they had in stock, I would challenge some of their designs and in doing so see if we could consider other design options where necessary. They seemed to understand this in the end, which was a relief.

The next few blogs will feature interviews with these individuals and discuss my thoughts on the product quality and design. I look forward to hearing feedback from readers.